Park's fall festival on through Sunday

Thursday

Sep 26, 2013 at 10:50 PM

Day visitors require a recreation passport to enjoy the festivities at the park. Camping costs $27 a night. A four-person team golf scramble is scheduled Saturday the Mackinaw Club Golf Course in Mackinaw City. The golf outing is put on by the Friends of Wilderness State Park, with proceeds going to improvements for the park.

Brady Hebert

By Brady Hebertbhebert@cheboygantribune.comMACKINAW CITY- Wilderness State Park's annual Fall Festival begins today and runs through Sunday in the Pines Campground at Wilderness State Park.The festival kicks off tonight 7 p.m. with the welcome pie eating contest and continues at 9 p.m. with Halloween movies and s'mores for kids.Saturday's fun starts at 10 a.m. with pumpkin carving and decoration. At 1 p.m. there will be hayrides and at 3 p.m. games for kids will be held. A potluck gets under way at 5 p.m. "The potluck was started by the campers a few years ago and everyone looks forward to it," said Wilderness State Park Supervisor Burr Mitchell.At 6:30 p.m., the park is closed to vehicles and trick-or-treating begins. Trick-or-treaters do not need to be registered campers, but Mitchell asks any visitors to bring candy with them to make sure there is enough to go around.A first for the festival this year is a murder mystery hayride beginning at 8 p.m. "We are pretty excited about the murder mystery. In the past we've had haunted houses and things like that, but we like to change things up," Mitchell said. Sunday morning a pancake breakfast will be held. Day visitors require a recreation passport to enjoy the festivities at the park. Camping costs $27 a night. A four-person team golf scramble is scheduled Saturday the Mackinaw Club Golf Course in Mackinaw City. The golf outing is put on by the Friends of Wilderness State Park, with proceeds going to improvements for the park. Registration is 9-10 a.m. at the Mackinaw Club Golf Course, with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. The cost for each four-person team is $150, and spots are still available. Golfers can also sign up for the scramble at www.friendsofwildernessstatepark.org. A number of prizes will be awarded, and a hot dog and brat lunch is provided. For more information about the events, contact Wilderness State Park at 231 436-5381.